Despite neighborhood complaints, most medical marijuana clinics are not typically the magnets for crime that critics often portray, according to Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck.

"Banks are more likely to get robbed than medical marijuana dispensaries," Beck said at a recent meeting with editors and reporters of the Los Angeles Daily News.

Opponents of the pot clinics complain that they attract a host of criminal activity to the neighborhoods, including robberies. But a report that Beck recently had the department generate looking at citywide robberies in 2009 found that wasn't true.

More importantly, medical marijuana dispensaries were lobbied and are kept 1,000 feet away from schools and parks. Banks are robbed constantly by green-hungry gunmen but no one has lobbied to keep banks away from schools or parks. Meanwhile, the biggest security threat at the dispensaries has typically been the DEA.

The very notion of dispensaries attracting crime is exaggerated, given that the whole purpose of their existence is to remove sick people from the black-market marijuana economy. Legal medical marijuana providers reduce crime on a massive scale simply by opening their doors each day. Even The Washington Post has observed the role of dispensaries in undermining cartel profits, and one couldn’t possibly calculate the cumulative crime-control benefits of millions of marijuana transactions that would otherwise have occurred in the shadows.

Ok, I really do not know the answer so….lets roll one and talk about it. If I were to provide an educated guess I would say they reduce crime, as the author communicates they provide a service that otherwise would be found on the black market. So…those buying for medical purposes in a licensed facility are no longer roaming the streets finding a drug dealer….thereby reducing traffic on both the streets and the drug traffic not to mention the crimes within those crimes. Well, that’s a reduction. Ok its late so I will shorten this thought….one every block they say…I agree so lets regulate the dam drug dealers I don’t want a Savon or Wrongaid or even Wallgrins on every corner like they are now. And god they get more then their fare share of break-ins and robberies. In addition, the stuff they sell, morphine, that oxy stuff, that kills people…shuts their organs down just like turning a key off in a car not to mention the addiction. I don’t know boys and girls I think we should have more medical marijuana dispensaries and shutdown more Wrongaids and Walgrins.
Bcounted

Since you are referring to the ones in Los Angeles, the main issue is that they are making a profit from pot. The state legal standard is that you can only cover your costs...it is supposed to be a cooperative. Many of the ones in LA are not operating legally...per the city attorney. Thus the reason the city will be closing most of them down.

Ok, here is what I think...I think that they need to be at least 1000ft from school.....no onsite consumption.......there needs to be security at every singly dispensary. Here in Denver there has been way more bank robberies than dispensary robberies. I think that if there is an armed guard at the door it detours any crime.

If these are "medical " marijuana despensaries why would they have any thing to do with "druggies"?
How would "medical" marijuana use effect the " black market "market trade?
Would not a perscription be manditory?
And could/should not proprietors of "medical marijuana despensaries" be prosecuted the same as pharmacists who despense pharmacutical drugs without a proper perscriptions?
If they dispense weed to a customer without a perscription?
btw If marijuana is dispensae in the machine as shown look for a lot of injuries.